The Platform Serve (alternative technique)
Note that the only difference between this serve and the pinpoint serve is the loading part and a little bit of the follow through part. Part 1:Preparation This part of the serve is where the player begins to concentrate. Similar to the pinpoint serve, the player stands with their feet about shoulder width apart. The angle of their feet may differ based on preference. The player’s center of gravity will vary based on how wide their feet are apart. The wider the feet, the lower the center of gravity and the more stable the player is. Part 2:Loading/Wind- Up During this stage of the serve, the player maintains their shoulder width base as they begin to shift their weight into their back foot. While doing this, the player’s body twists as if they are coiling up. By maintaining the wide base, it becomes much easier for the player to shift their weight backward and forward and have a more drastic coiling movement. The added weight shift and coiling allows the player to generate more angular momentum through contact (Bahamonde). -Arm motion: The most important aspect of the player’s upswing is positioning. A small part of the power generated in a serve comes from the arm swing. The arm portion of the serve is more important for accuracy than momentum or power. Part 3 Contact After the players weight has been shifted to the back foot and the body is coiled up, the player begins to powerfully shift their weight towards the front while swinging the racquet to make contact with the ball. When contact is made, the player often jumps off of the ground to generate most of their power. Studies have been shown that certain muscle strengthening exercises will increase the velocity that which the ball can be served (Cohen). The angle that which the racquet hits the ball is crucial in both the accuracy of the serve but also the spin. The types of spin: The different kinds of serves are names after the type of spin that is put on the ball. The three kinds of serves are slice, kick or topspin, and flat. By applying the force at an angle, they create a torque that causes the ball to spin which produces angular momentum that increases the force of acceleration (Bahamonde). When hitting a slice serve, the racquet must come in contact with the ball at a slight angle, and not head on. When they hit the ball they “brush” the ball from left to right (as shown). Most players also toss the ball more towards the right so that their racquet can have more contact time with the right side of the ball. A kick serve is where the racquet makes contact with the bottom of the ball, and then brushes up to make the ball spin towards the opponent. Most players will toss the ball more to their left so that the ball is right above of slightly behind their head. A flat serve is where they hit the ball straight on with very little, to no spin at all. Most player will toss the ball in front and to the right of them. Although it is helpful to modify your in each kind of serve, many players, especially the professions, avoid doing it. The reason many player avoid this is because as you reach a higher level of tennis, many good players are able to notice the change in the toss and can therefore anticipate the type of serve that the server will hit (Reid). Part 4: Follow Through Contrary to the pinpoint serving method, while the follow through begins for the platform serve, the feet remain in place until jumping off the ground. The forward motion takes their body into motion after making contact and the player is ready in a stance prepared for a return. One benefit of the platform serve is that there is no risk of foot-faulting because your feet remain in place. This is why it is more popular when teaching students.